Bear Bandwagon Eludes Sox

April 08, 1986|By Ed Sherman.

The White Sox should have followed Mike Ditka`s lead and worn headbands Monday.

The Bears` coach imitated his favorite quarterback, pulling out a headband with ``Sox`` written on it, when he threw out the first ball. The Sox, lacking the magic of the headband, lost 5-3 to the Milwaukee Brewers before a season-opening crowd of 42,265 at Comiskey Park. They now have the same number of losses as Ditka`s Bears had last season.

``I don`t think a headband would have helped,`` Ron Kittle said.

``Different sports.``

In this sport, baseball, the team that leaves 11 runners on base, including eight in the first five innings, usually loses. The Sox had their chances early against Brewer lefty Teddy Higuera, who went seven innings for the victory. But each time, Higuera worked his way out of the jam.

``We had our opportunities,`` said Sox manager Tony LaRussa. ``Higuera pitched well enough when he had guys on base. He made a lot of good pitches.`` Harold Baines came away impressed with Higuera, even though three of his four hits came off the lefty. Higuera did strike him out on a 3-2 pitch.

With the game tied at one, the Sox had two runners on with one out in the third, but Carlton Fisk flied to right and Kittle lined out to third baseman Paul Molitor.

``A few inches higher, and it could have been a different game,`` Kittle said.

Kittle represented the tying run in the ninth, with two outs and Baines on first. He hit a shot off Mark Clear that handcuffed Earnest Riles, but the shortstop recovered in time and flipped the ball to second baseman Jim Gantner for a force play that barely nipped Baines.

``I hit the ball on the screws,`` said Kittle, who had two hits. ``I almost knocked him into the left-field seats. It was one of those days. There`s still 161 to go.``

Whether Tom Seaver is in a Chicago uniform for all those games remains to be seen. Seaver`s 16th Opening Day wasn`t a memorable one. It produced only his second Opening Day loss to go with seven victories. He went 5 1/3 innings, giving up five runs and seven hits, including two homers.

But Seaver had more on his mind than baseball Monday. He left before the game ended to catch a plane for California to be with his mother, who is ill. ``I`m sure it was on his mind,`` LaRussa said. ``It would have been on mine.``

Catcher Joel Skinner was not aware of the condition of Seaver`s mother.

``This is the first I heard of it,`` he said after the game.

Skinner knew Seaver didn`t have his best stuff Monday. He gave up a roof- shot homer to Rob Deer in the second. The ball bounced off the left-field roof and into the hands of a fan entering the ballpark.

Riles tagged Seaver for a two-run homer in the fourth that barely reached the first row of the right-field stands, giving Milwaukee a 3-1 lead.

``Tom wasn`t quite himself,`` Skinner said. ``His location wasn`t the best. But he kept us in the game. We didn`t take advantage by scoring any runs.``

Skinner didn`t help in that department. In his first Opening Day start, he went 0-for-4, striking out in his first two appearances.

``I was a little excited before the game, but once the game got going, I was fine,`` Skinner said. ``Higuera threw me some good fastballs. His breaking ball kept me off-balance a little. It`s nothing to get down about. I was hitting the ball good this spring.``

The Sox`s former catcher, Fisk, had an uneventful day in his first game in left field. The 38-year-old learned quickly that he couldn`t do much against rooftop homers.

``Maybe I should have played that ball a little taller,`` Fisk said.

He said he felt strange at his new position. But he did get the job done, making five putouts.

``I touched the ball eight times today,`` Fisk said. ``I`m going to start keeping track. I touched the ball once, but it was foul. I didn`t count that one.

``I don`t hate it,`` Fisk said of playing left field. ``But I don`t know if I`ll ever get used to not experiencing the involvement I did as a catcher. It was an active day in left. I picked up all the trash out there.``

The focus also was on new center-fielder John Cangelosi. The 5-foot-8-inch rookie was retired in his first three at-bats before walking twice. He easily stole second after the first walk.

``I have no fault with what Cangelosi did today,`` LaRussa said. ``He showed that he`s capable of getting on base, and he showed that he can steal once he gets on. That`s what we want from him.``